Mountain Bikings Future?

Here it is...... the future of mountain biking! Remember these faces and their names because one of them just may be a future Norba Champion. On the other hand none of them may become championship winners, but they all are part of the future of mountain biking in more ways than you think. Beside me (far left) is, Jordan(2nd from the left), Christopher ( 3rd), and DJ (far right). They are students in high school in Ohio. All ride and race for Chris Skinner (Multi Year OMBC Champion). I can't tell you much about these guys outside of the short meeting at races but I can say they are polite competitive well respected young adults. I have donated bike parts, tires, even a frame and a couple of forks to Chris which he uses to build up bikes for these guys to race. At every OMBC race I attend these guys are there competing against each other then loading into the same cars and heading home together. Never have I seen arrogant or unsportsmanship manners from any of them. In fact this past weekend I didn't race but rode around the course and hung with a few of these guys in the trail and each and everyone of them came to me after the race, said thanks for "pushing" them and shook my hand. Thats the future of mountain biking and I like what it looks like so far!

Most of these manners are probably taught to them from Chris Skinner. Hes an individual I meet a few years back at a race series at Beans Bike Park in Ohio (no longer exists). I was new to the sport yet Chris approached me talked to me as an equal and wished me luck (he was the current Ohio State Champ), I was nothing special. Our friendship grew from there and i have nothing short of the upmost respect for him and everything he does.

Teamed with Bob Myers and Trek, Chris helps manages a small mountain bike team, the Trek-Ohio Valley Team, but in addition to that he works with these young adults at school introducing them to mountain biking and archery. How cool is that? I wish there had been programs like that when I attended school. Chris not only does this at school but he has built, along with these students, a trail system on his private property where they train weekly during the season and one of the 12 OMBC races takes place.

So when you start wondering about the future of our sport remember Chris. Think of the time and effort he puts in to helping these students but don't count on him only. Do the same, take some time on the trail or anywhere to talk with newcomers. Offer to show them a trail, meet up answer their questions. Its in everyones intrest to promote the sport otherwise all trails could close and we could all be looking for a new sport. Think about it?

The Godfather: Part II

No I'm not talking about Don Vito Carleone and the Family from the movies here, I'm talking about me, yea me "The Godfather". Sometime back, in the 80s, my Aunt & Uncle asked me to be the Godfather of their newborn baby Hannah, who would already by default be my cousin. What did I know about being someones Godfather at the age of 18? Heck I wasn't even sure what I was going to do for the rest of my life let alone think about guiding someone else along if they needed. But after some thought I agreed to the "responsibility" but only recently have i really come to define and understand what that responsibility was.


Now I'm not saying I haven't been there for Hannah for the birthdays, christmas's, the first communion and such but I really didn't think I had done much more than a normal relative would have. This got me to thinking, what have i really provided for Hannah as her Godparent? World class knowledge, super human abilities, diamonds, silver, gold or other riches? No, i haven't given her any of those things but those weren't the things intended to be gained from a god-father/god-daughter relationship. Instead, Hannah and I have a great friendship which is becoming more enjoyable to me as she matures. I like to believe that she trusts me and would feel comfortable coming to me for advice, help or just to talk to.


After the years of her growing up we have reached the time where she is becoming an adult and we are able to spend short periods of time together simply going to a movie, shopping, talking about her running and my biking, or taking time off work to have lunch. I now realize that the responsibility of being a Godfather was "just to be there" and since Hannah still says "love ya" to me in front of anyone anywhere tells me that i must have done that.


Hannah is an excellent athelete and runs hurdles for the Butler Track Team. During the early spring when practice starts I incorperate the school grounds into my training rides simply to stop by the track, say hi and on occasion get a chance to see her compete. I'm looking forward to seeing her run and compete at the collegic level for the next few years. She is truely a wonderful person and I actually gained much more than she did, by accepting the invitation to be her Godfather.

Look out as Hannah sails over these hurdles and many more in the future.

Happy Birthday Hannah!

The Godfather

Its the Most Wonderful Time of The Year

Here it is, Fall Time in Western PA! What a great time to live in the North East of the country. As seen above, I'm riding in a small local park called Alameda Park. I'm trying to jump a log. Riding when the leaves are changing and falling makes each trail different than normal. Suddenly you are able to see around that turn or you'll notice just how close a house and the trail really are to each other. Wow its amazing how much life the fall brings to a boring old trail that you've been riding all summer!

What an awesome time to ride. I better get out there!

Take a close look...... yea thats correct, its snow! In October, I love riding thru a small snowfall.

A look out my back window as I dress for the exciting ride to follow!



Heres a look from the North East, just outside of Butler, overlooking Rt 422 (not pictured).

Best Friends

Well, Best friends are great! Sunday morning i went to my best buds (TJ Platt) house to help him move a few things before going for a ride. Upon waking up I sat around the house for a bit drinking some fresh coffee and looking out the window and the glorious colors. After a few cups I drove off to TJs place. He and I have been riding together for most of the 5 years I've been riding. Yes I meet TJ at Dirty Harrys a few months after getting into the bike scene in 2001. We hit it off pretty good and instantly became close. We have trained & ridden together many many miles since then, winning more than a few 24 hour races with other teammates along with a few 6 hour and 100 mile duo races. During the summer race season we don't get the chance to ride together like we do in the off season so I've been looking forward to spending some hours with him. TJ & I are the most consistant training partners in our group of friends. We usually alternate between each other picking the weekend location during the winter and anyone else interested in joining in must meet us. Rule #1 very little time is spent talking on the phone about it. If he calls me and confirms a ride, location and time I know he'll be there and vice versa. Rule #2 never tell the others the real mileage intended, always make it sound shorter! (just kidding)Most sundays start with breakfast @ Eatn Park, drive to the trail then ride for hours and hours. Sometimes a sunday ride will be 5 to 6 hours of riding. If the weather lets us we'll ride trails, some of which are right from my basement door.


TJ recently started a new job and affiliation with Trek of Pittsburgh so for this ride we suited up with their colors and headed out. We talked about the things happening in his life and about the new store he'll be working at in Cranberry Twp soon. Everyone is excited about this store coming to the area. For sometime we really haven't had anything in the way of a major bike shop in the Butler area and alot of guys wouldn't drive the distance to pittsburgh to purchase a one. Soon this won't be a problem. If you're in the Cranberry Area around christmas stop in and check it out on Rt 228. You just may get to see a few of our race bikes on display there.






So I haven't download the data from our ride but I'll guess that it was close to 70 miles in the cool fall weather. The sun came out and went away, it rained lightly for periods yet the day was a great enjoyment for me..... pedaling with a close friend!
Weather never dictates how good or bad the ride is just getting out and feeling the freedom of getting somewhere using your own energy makes it a successful ride.

I'm looking at a long winter of fun rides with TJ and others so if you want to pedal look us up.

I'll Take the Big Mac with the Special Sauce?

Special sauce, What is it really? Nothing yes nothing different. Its just a combination of simplier things. So why do I mention this? Well its basically the same thing when individuals talk about where they live and why one place is better than the other. Is it true that one local is superior to another? No, one place just has a different combination of the basics land, water & air. Some have more land others have more water but they all have air. So just because someone says their location has a "Special Sauce" it really doesn't mean its better.


Case in point.... I went to Bakersfield California this past weekend for

my brothers wedding and while there I was told numerous times how grand CA is. How at any given moment you could drive to the snow or to the beach. Hike, bike, swim, raft, ski and so on every day any time. I was reminded how the sun shines more days than not and rainfall is almost non existant. In fact one person even commented on the Pittsburgh area as "dingy". Well I have to disagree. We may not have sunny days all the time or magnificent mountains on the horizon but what we do have is change. Yes reality is waking up and having mother nature dictate your day with fall colors, cold temps, snow, rain, or wind that all may last hours or days. We don't have the choice for snow today and the beach tomorrow instead, we get stunningly beautiful color changes in the fall (right outside my picture window), snow and frozen ground during the winter, green green green blossoms in the spring and wonderfully sunny filled days during the summer.

I took a bike ride with a family friend Cary Mills during my visit. I must say thanks to him for taking the time to show me the local trails surrounding my brothers house. I regretfully say that they compare closely to our strip mine riding less the trees. It was fun yet I felt something missing like the unknown log around the corner of some singletrack, or the creek crossing that changes monthly with the amount of rainfall we have. We rode somewhere close to 20 miles and it was all fast flowing smooth sand trails. I loved being able to let it all out hammering in the big ring as we railed down the superfast descents. The town of Bakersfield finds itself at around 404' above sea level but offers some nice climbing in these foothills so I'll assume the local riders have some excellent fitness but it would be hard to hone any technical skills on the trails I rode. True they can travel a few hours for a variety but we have these outside our door. It was a nice change riding trails that where open and fast and I'm glad to have experianced them while there.



All in all it caused me to re-evaluate my opinion of western pa and my local trails. I thought long and hard on my return trip to the keystone state and found myself smiling as I mentally rode some of my favorite trails. Suddenly I realized that "home" wasn't ranked a lesser place, it just had a different combination in its "Special Sauce". Monday afternoon I took a ride from my basement door via trails into a local park to smell the fall air that resembles cotton candy and to hear the crunch of the crisp fallen leaves on the trail. The entire time feeling like those that I left in CA could never understand the love we have for our area and what it offers us daily.


The tempurature was barely 50 some degrees but the sun was hanging above and I could smell leaves burning as I passed thru housing areas. The trails where tight and colors where starting to brighten on the remaining leaves. This was the environment I enjoyed and what really keeps me going out.



My real purpose of this post is to help people realize that no matter where you ride its that environment that you consider your "special sauce" but its only special to you, and others may like something different but we should all respect each other and the places we enjoy. I think people overlook the PA area but with a little searching could discover something wonderful!
Happy Trails.

Get Outside, in PA? Chapter 1

A quite place nestled in an area known as The PA Wilds lays an abundance of magnificant views that can be discovered via a mountain bike.

This past tuesday I took a well needed day off work to enjoy what the state is advertising as "Get Outdoors PA". A little known fact... PA is one of only several States that have free usage of the state park systems. I have experiance a few states where it isn't so and I paid a fee just to enter. Why then are there not more people out Hiking Biking camping and fishing? Who knows but I was. The following is a story of my outdoor experiance at Sizerville State Park and Elk State Forest.

5:15 I'm picked up @ home by my cousin Jeremy who is the Park Manager @ Sizerville State Park which is located 6 miles north of Emporium PA. After our drive to the park he proceeds to the office while I suit up for a ride I had layed out with his assistance. Packing up my food & water I headed out into the chilly 42 deg morning. I had made the choice to start up a small logging road called Crooked Run Rd which climbs from 1300' to almost 2400' in a 4 mile distance and takes me out of the actual park property into the Elk State Forest. What a tranquil ride it was up the mountain, all that could be heard was my lonely breathing and leaves blowing in the slight breeze. Now Crooked Run Rd is named after the water way that it parellels, which had captured my attention during the time I pedaled upward in hopes of getting a glimpse of wildlife. Squirrels and chimpmunks where everywhere but I thought of the excitment of seeing something like a blackbear or possibly a fox or porcupine during this ride. As I proceeded toward the top my lungs where stinging from the crisp air that my body was requiring to function but eventually the "air bags" adjusted and I settled in to explore. While continuing I would stop and ride out some of the forestry roads which where marked for riding just to see a little deeper into the wooded mountain. Some would take me in a mile or so to some spectacular open areas and by open I mean larger trees with very little ground growth where one could see for great distances into the pines.

Still no bear but lots of animal tracks in the muddy parts of the trails. Once getting to the top and snapping the above photo @ the Vista I meandored out Ridge road to the north. During this time I passed a vehicle or two parked along the road with hints that they where archery hunters.

Once I made it to the intersection of Ridge Rd and Cowely Rd I only had a 1/4 mile or so before I turned up Fox Fire Tower Rd. This was simply an out & back (up & down) ride that I wanted to do. Once I had climbed to the top I found a clearing with nothing more than an outhouse looking structure standing on the edge of the woodline. I took in the moment but thoughts about how stupid I was for standing in the tall grass waiting to get bit by a snake started to enter my mind so I jumped back on the bike and rocketed down the climb I had just pedaled up.

The rest of this loop was a sceaming down hill on Cowely Rd straight back into the park. I tooled around the park a little until the Park Manager offered to assist me in taking some pictures and suggested we ride a small loop trail which was the Sizerville Nature Trail. I took him up on the offer, changed into some fresh clothes and we took off. Now this turned out to be awesome! First you climb and climb and climb up a grassy forestry road breathing like a whipped horse(1300' to 2040') for the first 1 3/4 miles, then it flattens off but the trail gradually bottlenecks from the forestry road to a singletrack trail littered with rocks and roots! Something that any true mountain biker likes!! Suddenly I found myself railing on the edge of being out of control down the twisting narrow decent to the bottom. Wow was that a goldmine of a trail and almost overlooked by me had it not been for the Park Staffs invitation.

All in all I really enjoyed my day in the outdoors of PA and I would highly suggest that others take some time to visit a state park and make sure you talk with the locals and staff. They really know their areas. In fact I got the opportunity to meet Greg Sassaman who is the Assistant Regional Manager for Parks Region #1 and in that conversation I learned of PA being in the small group of remaining states that do not charge for entry into state parks. His knowledge of the forestry area surrounding the park was impressive and he took the time to explain some of the places I could explore on my next trip. He even admitted to "mountain biking" himself, saying he and his wife ride the Crooked Run Rd on occasion.

You do not need to be an elite mountain biker to handle these trails/forestry roads. The morning loop I rode took me less than 3 hours with several stops to look around. Any level of bike rider could manage although it does have climbing. A State Park such as Sizerville offers many things for mountain bikers. With 23 camping sites, Emporium close by and the Elk State Forest this place would be a perfect location for a weekend of training or recreational riding right from the park.

Take some time and look at the information that can be found all over the web for example:

Pennsylvania Wilds is two million acres of public lands for hiking, biking, fishing, boating, hunting and exploration in northcentral Pennsylvania. Within the twelve-county region are; 27 state parks, eight state forest districts (1.3 million acres), 50 state game lands and Allegheny National Forest (500,000 acres). Highlights of the area are; elk watching, scenic Pennsylvania Route 6, Pine Creek Gorge (PA Grand Canyon), the darkest skies in the east at Cherry Springs State Park, and hundreds of miles of backpacking trails, bike paths and trout fishing streams. Go to VisitPA.com Pennsylvania Wilds

Sizerville State Park 199 E Cowley Run RoadEmporium, PA 15834-9608 Phone:814-486-5605 Manager: Jeremy Rekich E-mail: sizervillesp@state.pa.us



I would like to thank Our Parks System (DCNR), Greg Sassaman, Jeremy Rekich, the Bureau of Forestry, and mother nature all for hosting & contributing to my day.

Trek University

What an excellent day it turned out to be here in western PA. This morning Michelle and I traveled a little south to Bavington to attend a Trek U Class. Bob Myers and the fine people from Trek Of Pittsburgh where kind enough to include me as a guest. Ok you're asking what is Trek U? Well its a highly organized and secret meeting for Trek store employees where they are informed to all the changes and upgrades made to the product lines for the new year. After getting schooled on the changes and modifications you are tested on the info and if you pass they let you test ride some of the awesome rides from their van! Yea, being told that caused me to buckle down, listen and ace the test. Moving on now I picked out a fresh Gary Fisher Race Day 29" full susp. for my first ride. After getting names from the others we took off thru a section of dry twisty single track. I really started to enjoy the plushness of the full suspension and eventually let it rip down a rutted out decent to the roadway! In fact I pushed back up just to do that again. Back to the secret meeting place and on to another bike which was the Top Fuel (Trek). Now this I really liked. It felt fast yet not overly plush..... more like something I would want to race but oops only 26" wheels! Damn but for those out there wanting to stay with that wheel size ,well this bike is born and breed to race. I did a fairly long ride on this with several of the Trek of Pgh employees. We had a blast and returned to try a few other bikes. I gave a quick spin on a Fisher HiFi which is a new radical ride from the Fisher Lab. This bike has an offset fork which makes it handle extremely well at slower speeds. Now before you all start scratching your head wanting me to explain this, well I'll be honest... i wasn't paying attention when the teacher explained this in detail but hey I race'em & ride'em they sell'em so if you really want the full scoop stop by a Fisher/Trek store and get them to show you this. It seems like an excellent full range bike. On my final lap I rode my own bike just to feel the difference but the General manager of ToP (trek of pittsburgh) Chris rode the HiFi, and I constantly heard a laugh and a hoha coming from him as he railed thru the turns.

So I would love to include some pictures but when they saw my camera I was asked to turn over the disc containing all photos taken. They could be to careful.

Seriously I was there to ride and BS and somehow in all the excitement I forgot to get the camera out.

Thanks to Bob Myers, Trek Bob, Don, Chris, Adam, Kasey, Jordan, Paul and the others from Trek Of Pitts for allowing me to infiltrate their study session.

Mudfest @ West Branch

This past sunday I took a short drive (1.5 hour) to West Branch State Park in Ohio for a race in the OMBC series. Since committing to the Mid Atlantic races, Michelle and I havn't been able to make any of these Ohio events except one back in May @ Mohican. I was looking forward to seeing the Ohio guys and gals and also really looking forward to the course @ West Branch. Most of these trails are built & maintained by a club called CAMBA. I must say there are some fabulous trails and I really enjoy racing here. In the past two years this course has proven to be a big ring hammer fest! Yes I would race the gears here because of the lack of climbing and abundance of fast rolling singletrack which doesn't lend well to the single speed. But this weekend Bob Myers (my Trek/Fisher rep) would be attending and he had just asked me why I don't race gears instead of the single speed so I wanted to show him just how well I can do with the handicap of a single speed drivetrain. Lucky for me it rained pretty heavy saturday and when i arrived at the venue I could see by the parking area that the trail would be wet & muddy. This type of trail condition is something I'm very familiar with due to my winter training rides hear in western pa.

Getting ready for the start i get a chance to catch up with everyone and what they've been up to, Chris Skinner, Ross Clark, SteveTwining, Gary Snodgrass, Tiffany Kenny and a few others. At the start I manage to place myself at the front line so I could hang on as we travel thru the open field area. Theres the word....go! I clip into my pedals and start cranking the 18T drive cog on my Gary Fisher Rig. Around the roadway and turning up into the muddy pathway cut thru the field I manage to pull into the lead. Knowing this won't last I try not to push the pace and eventually let a few riders back in front of me. Ben Ortt, Steve Twining, and Dave Walker all pull ahead of me but not by much. As the course rolled up and around to the section of rocky singletrack I found myself closing the small gap that the lead group had on me. Wow I was now riding in the pack with these three guys all with multi geared bikes! Again the course hit an open flat area at which time the leaders pulled away but I didn't get worried because we where about to enter the twisting slippery singletrack that follows the outside edge of the lake. Once again I found myself in the lead group and in fourth place only feet from the race leader.

Coming around for our first lap I crossed the line in the lead group with only tenths of a second difference. Now I had to hold on again thru the pathway in the field so i slid forward on my seat and prepared to raise the cadence (rpm of your pedals) to mantain my speed. Up and around we went tire to tire until Steve (in third) slipped up in the mud and dumped himself in front of me. With only a nanosecond to respond, I simply had no other choice than to unweight my bike and ride up and over Steve and his bike! Across the re axle, over the cranks and front wheel all while Steve is laying under the bike! I to do a semi slide but catch myself. Back up and off we go both laughing yet wanting to catch back up to the guys who took advantage of our mistake. Finally a few hundred yards later I catch the leaders only to watch Steve crank by me and steal the second place spot! Wow that was cool, I just rode over this dude and it never slowed him down! The three leaders Ben, Steve and Dave eventually pulled ahead again until the singletrack at which time I closed the gap back to a tire for tire race. Entering a tight 90 degree turn Dave slide out and I had to slow down at which time the two others pulled ahead. As we worked thru the lakeside trails Dave keep finding himself on the ground and it was slowly giving the others an advantage to build the time difference between us. Finally I worked past Dave but the others already where ahead by a bit. Oh well I'll just tough it out for one more final lap and see if I can hold Dave off and keep the gap between me and the leaders to a respectable time. I never pulled the leaders back into my sights but I did hold Dave and the others behind me off for a nice 3rd place finish. Bob Myers was there cheering us on and I got to show him just why I like to ride the Single Speed.

Two Awesome Guys (Chris Skinner & Bob Myers) along w/myself. Check back later for more information on these two individuals and the things they do for the future of mountain biking! I'm honored to have them as friends.

Walmart & Deans Milk

Well everyone who really knows me understands how much I dislike Walmart! But in this day & age there are times you just can't avoid going into the "freak show". Tonight I found myself sitting in the Walmart Parking lot thinking twice about going in, no actually the thought of running in front of a car rather than going in sounded less painful! For the past two days I have been going into Target looking for my fix of Deans Ultimate Chocolate Milk only to find the cooler empty, so after two days cold turkey I had no other choice than to sell my soul and enter "hell" for a gallon of the good stuff. And by good stuff I mean Ultimate Chocolate and those who have tasted it would agree it is the good stuff! So after pulling my hat down low I trotted down the food isle straight to the coolers but as I got close I became uneasy and nervous, so without any hesitation I grabbed 2 gallons turned and bee lined to the register. Disliking being inside the Walmart so much, I thought it better not to chance running out of milk in a couple of days and needing to repeat this trip, hence the 2 gallon purchase. Now drinking this much won't be a problem since I average 1 1/2 to 2 gallons a week. I use Ultimate Chocolate for everything except coffee. It is a daily staple of my diet but I must ask when will my local supermarket carry it so I will no longer have to go to Walmart?? Yea as I said it's always a "freak show" I don't think I've ever been inside with out hearing someone say "baby, I gatta go thru register 23 cuz I needa getta roll of chew"!